The Warrior King

Six

I simply nodded, staring at the Warrior King, unable to think of anything to say. He rubbed his thumb along my bottom lip and my gut was instantly filled with sparks that went to my feet. The skin he had touched seemed to be burning. My mind felt like it was wrapped in a heavy fog. I was unable to form a cohesive thought. What was happening to me?

In the next second, the elite commanders appeared at the side of the king and he dropped his hand. The first commander had long light brown hair and eyes to match; his skin was the color of caramel and he had a big grin on his face. The other was dark-haired with dark brown eyes, fair skin, and a slightly more ominous look to him. Before anyone could say anything, Brielle looked at the dark-haired commander and said in a sassy tone, "I wouldn't mind taking you home tonight." 

My jaw dropped. The corners of the elite commander's mouth flickered as if he was going to smile and his companion howled with laughter. I couldn't believe that she had been bold enough to say that to a man she had never met before, let alone a man who was in charge of the most lethal group of men in the kingdom. Before I could die of embarrassment, the dark-haired elite commander looked her straight in the eye and said, "The feeling is mutual," and then turned to the king.

It was Brielle's turn to have her jaw drop and if it hadn't been attached to her face, it would've kept going. No one had ever responded to her flirtation that directly. I couldn't help but laugh. The awkwardness of the situation was starting to take its toll on me.

"Ross, please get a hold of yourself," the king said calmly to the commander who was still doubled over in laughter. Ross finally stood back up wiping tears from his eyes. His dark-haired companion responded by rolling his. "James, prepare for an immediate departure of the feast for my queen and me," he ordered the second commander. Queen? I thought. What queen? Wasn't the king unbonded?

"Who?" I asked out loud before I realized I didn't say it in my head. The look on everyone's faces made it clear I spoke the word aloud. 

"Sasha," Misty said slowly, "I think he means you."

If one more person said one more ridiculous thing, I was pretty sure my head was going to explode. I was about to say something to that effect when the elite commanders turned and shouted out two orders. The crowd was quickly parted and the Warrior King abruptly grabbed my hand. What was happening? What was going on? Between my whole body now being engulfed in flames from his grip to being so confused as to who this queen was that he spoke about and everything else that was happening, I could barely keep up as the king pulled me through the crowd.

"Wait!" I finally managed to say as we exited out through a side door of the Great Hall. The Warrior King stopped and looked at me, his eyes clearly darker than they had been earlier. I pulled my hand away and he looked at me, frowning.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice rich with concern, which surprised me. I shook my head, chewing my bottom lip and just looked at him. "What is it?" he asked, stepping toward me. I took a step back and he stopped. My mind raced as I tried to come up with something, anything that would sound somewhat intelligent.

"Uh um, well, uh, (think Sasha think!) do you have a name?" I finally blurted out. I groaned inwardly. Of all the things I could've said at that time, at that moment, and the best I could come up with was do you have a name? Clearly, I was not queen material.